51:29 Adh-Dhaariyat (The Winnowing Winds)

فلما سمعت المرأة البشارة { أقبلت } فرحة مستبشرة { فِي صَرَّةٍ } أي: صيحة { فَصَكَّتْ وَجْهَهَا } وهذا من جنس ما يجري من لنساء عند السرور [ونحوه] من الأقوال والأفعال المخالفة للطبيعة والعادة، { وَقَالَتْ عَجُوزٌ عَقِيمٌ } أي: أنى لي الولد، وأنا عجوز، قد بلغت من السن، ما لا تلد معه النساء، ومع ذلك، فأنا عقيم، غير صالح رحمي للولادة أصلاً، فثم مانعان، كل منهما مانع من الولد، وقد ذكرت المانع الثالث في سورة هود بقولها: { وَهَذَا بَعْلِي شَيْخًا إِنَّ هَذَا لَشَيْءٌ عَجِيبٌ }

أي في صرخة عظيمة ورنة قاله ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما ومجاهد وعكرمة وأبو صالح والضحاك وزيد بن أسلم والثوري والسدي وهي قولها "يا ويلتا" "فصكت وجهها" أي ضربت بيدها على جبينها قاله مجاهد وابن سابط وقال ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما لطمت أي تعجبا كما تتعجب النساء من الأمر الغريب "وقالت عجوز عقيم" أي كيف ألد وأنا عجوز وقد كنت في حال الصبا عقيما لا أحبل؟.

The Guests of the Prophet Ibrahim

We mentioned this story before in Surah Hud and Al-Hijr. Allah said,

هَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ ضَيْفِ إِبْرَهِيمَ الْمُكْرَمِينَ

(Has the story reached you, of the honored guests of Ibrahim), whom Ibrahim honored and who,

قَالُواْ سَلَـماً قَالَ سَلَـمٌ

(they said: "Salaman!" He answered: "Salamun.")

وَإِذَا حُيِّيتُم بِتَحِيَّةٍ فَحَيُّواْ بِأَحْسَنَ مِنْهَآ أَوْ رُدُّوهَآ

(When you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with what is better than it, or return it equally.)(4:86) So the Friend of Allah chose a better reply in return for their greeting, implementing Allah's command: Reciprocating the greeting with the term Salamun is stronger than the greeting using the term Salaman. The three angels; Jibril, Mika'il and Israfil came to Ibrahim in the image of handsome young wonderfully graceful men. This is why Ibrahim said,

قَوْمٌ مُّنكَرُونَ

(You are a people unknown to me.) Allah the Exalted said,

فَرَاغَ إِلَى أَهْلِهِ

(Then he turned to his household,) Ibrahim discretely went inside in haste,

فَجَآءَ بِعِجْلٍ سَمِينٍ

(and brought out a roasted calf.) from the best of his menu, And in another Ayah

فَمَا لَبِثَ أَن جَآءَ بِعِجْلٍ حَنِيذٍ

(And he hastened to entertain them with a roasted calf.) (11:69) means roasted on hot coals

فَقَرَّبَهُ إِلَيْهِمْ

(And placed it before them), brought it close to them,

قَالَ أَلاَ تَأْكُلُونَ

(Saying, "Will you not eat") Ibrahim said this polite and kind statement to his guests, and surely, this Ayah indicates proper manners for honoring guests. For he brought the food to his guests quickly, while they were unaware that it was being prepared for them. He did not first mention this favor to them by saying, "We will make food for you." Rather, he discretely had it prepared and placed before them. He prepared the best kind of food he had, a young, fat roasted calf. He did not place the food far from them and invite them to come close to it to eat. Rather, he placed it close to them and refrained from ordering them to eat. Instead he invited them using a kind and subtle invitation,

أَلا تَأْكُلُونَ

(Will you not eat) This statement is similar to one of us saying to a guest, "Would you be kind and generous to do such and such" Allah the Exalted said,

فَأَوْجَسَ مِنْهُمْ خِيفَةً

(Then he conceived fear of them.) this Ayah is explained by Allah's statement,

فَلَمَّا رَأَى أَيْدِيَهُمْ لاَ تَصِلُ إِلَيْهِ نَكِرَهُمْ وَأَوْجَسَ مِنْهُمْ خِيفَةً قَالُواْ لاَ تَخَفْ إِنَّا أُرْسِلْنَا إِلَى قَوْمِ لُوطٍ وَامْرَأَتُهُ قَآئِمَةٌ فَضَحِكَتْ

(But when he saw their hands went not towards it, he mistrusted them, and felt a sense of fear of them. They said: "Fear not, we have been sent against the people of Lut." And his wife was standing (there), and she laughed.)(11:70-71), meaning, she was glad that the people of Lut would be destroyed on account of their rebellion and transgression against Allah, the Exalted. This is when the angels delivered the good news to her of a son, Ishaq, and Ya`qub after Ishaq,

قَالَتْ يوَيْلَتَا ءَأَلِدُ وَأَنَاْ عَجُوزٌ وَهَـذَا بَعْلِى شَيْخًا إِنَّ هَـذَا لَشَىْءٌ عَجِيبٌ - قَالُواْ أَتَعْجَبِينَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ رَحْمَتُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَـتُهُ عَلَيْكُمْ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ إِنَّهُ حَمِيدٌ مَّجِيدٌ

(She said: "Woe unto me! Shall I bear a child while I am an old woman, and here is my husband an old man Verily, this is a strange thing!" They said, "Do you wonder at the decree of Allah The mercy of Allah and His blessings be on you, O family of the house. Surely, He (Allah) is All-Praiseworthy, All-Glorious.")(11:72-73) Allah said here;

وَبَشَّرُوهُ بِغُلَـمٍ عَلَيمٍ

(And they gave him glad tidings of a son having knowledge.) This news was as good to Ibrahim as it was to his wife, for this son would be theirs, and therefore, they both were getting some good news. Allah the Exalted said,

فَأَقْبَلَتِ امْرَأَتُهُ فِى صَرَّةٍ

(Then his wife came forward with a loud voice), She screamed loudly, according to Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Abu Salih, Ad-Dahhak, Zayd bin Aslam, Ath-Thawri and As-Suddi. She said when she shouted,

يوَيْلَتَا

(Ah! Woe to me!)(25:28), then,

فَصَكَّتْ وَجْهَهَا

(she smote her face,) meaning, she struck herself upon her forehead, according to Mujahid and Ibn Sabit. Ibn `Abbas said that she smacked her face just as women do when confronted with an amazing thing,

وَقَالَتْ عَجُوزٌ عَقِيمٌ

(and said: "A barren old woman!") meaning, "How can I give birth while I am an old woman And even when I was young I was barren and could not have children,"

قَالُواْ كَذَلِكِ قَالَ رَبُّكِ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْحَكِيمُ الْعَلِيمُ

(They said: "Even so says your Lord. Verily, He is the All-Wise, the All-Knower"), `He is the All-Knower of the honor that you are worthy of and He is the most Wise in His statements and decisions.'

Then his wife Sarah came forward clamouring shouting fī sarratin is a circumstantial qualifier that is to say she came shouting and smote slapped her face and said ‘A barren old woman!’ who has never given birth to a child aged ninety-nine with Abraham being one hundred years old; or alternatively he was a hundred and twenty years old and she was ninety years old.

فَأَقْبَلَتِ امْرَ‌أَتُهُ فِي صَرَّ‌ةٍ (So his wife came forward with a clamour,...51:29). The word sarrah means vociferation or clamour or most vehement clamour of crying. Sarir is the sound of a pen when it is writing. When Sayyidah Sarah ؓ heard that the angels were giving good news to her husband Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) of the birth of a son, she thought that this news was as good to her as it was to her husband, for the son would be theirs, and therefore, they both were getting some good news. As a result, she involuntarily screamed loudly, she struck herself upon her forehead as women do when confronted with an amazing thing and said: and slapped her own face and said, عَجُوزٌ عَقِيمٌ "A barren old woman?" meaning 'How can I give birth while I am an old woman? And even when I was young I was barren and could not have children.' The angels replied that Allah has power over all things and therefore this would happen even so: "This is how your Lord has said." Thus when Holy Prophet Ishaq (علیہ السلام) was born, Sayyidah Sarah ؓ was ninety-nine years old and Holy Prophet Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) was one hundred years old. (Qurtubi)